COURSE CURRICULUM

The Master’s program in Italian Literature and Culture at Leiden University is an Italian-language MA that spans two semesters and provides advanced academic training in Italian literary and cultural studies. All courses, assignments, and presentations are conducted in Italian, requiring advanced language proficiency. The program allows students to explore literature through a variety of methodological approaches applied to concrete case studies, enabling in-depth study of specific periods, movements, genres, authors, themes, or media. The MA thesis, written in Italian, may employ methods such as adaptation theory, cultural transfer, discourse analysis, ecocriticism, intermediality and intertextuality, semiotics, and system theory.The program structure includes four electives and a thesis. Courses 1 and 2 are chosen from the Italian-taught list of electives. Courses 3 and 4 can be selected from the Italian Literature and Culture program or other relevant courses within the MA in Literary Studies, or from related MA programs such as Italian Language and Linguistics. Students can also pursue a combined program with Literary Studies/Italian and Linguistics/Italian courses.The program can be followed full-time or part-time, although part-time study does not include evening classes. Teaching is delivered by internationally active scholars, with courses updated regularly to reflect contemporary academic debates and research insights. The curriculum emphasizes academic rigor, equipping students with skills in critical thinking, academic writing, and independent research, culminating in the MA thesis. Students are encouraged to engage with the department’s lecturers and activities through the Italian team’s blog and YouTube channel.